Orphan Black Season 2: Ratings Down Without Doctor Who, But Still Strong

The second season of Orphan Black kicked off this past Saturday, April 19, at 9 p.m. ET, and while the viewership for the highly-anticipated premiere was impressive, the BBC America drama didn’t perform as well the second time around because the season began without that ever-helpful Dr. Who lead-in.

As The Hollywood Reporternotes, the 9 p.m. ET telecast sans Dr.Who before it drew about 620,000 viewers, down some 50,000 from the series premiere last April which did follow a Dr.Who episode.

Still, Orphan Black is showing impressive numbers on its own and is currently ranked as BBC America’s second-biggest series among adults 18-49, behind the aforementioned Who,of course.

What’s more? In that key 18-49 demo OB earned an impressive 391,000 viewers, nearly double its first season average. THR points out that despite the lack of Dr.Who lead-in, Orphan Black will likely continue to gain traction because of increased word of mouth and recent awards show love. Series star Tatiana Maslany earned a coveted Golden Globe nomination earlier this year, and the show as a whole was recently awarded a Peabody. Keep up the good work, clones!

Did you catch the Season 2 premiere of Orphan Black this past Saturday, or were you busy with something else instead? Tell us below!